"To be invited to enter her intimate life, to share the truth of her personal experiences, to see the details of a young activist's day by day struggles and delights is no small privilege. How many of us sitting watching the television news as it flits from story to story, know what it's like to actually be where the events are happening? Chris takes us into the forest, into the magic and the songs of resistance and the moment by moment journey of those who care enough to live their hope."

—from the foreword by Joy Kogawa

“There are many who act without thinking and others who think without acting. Christine Lowther, the Tofino poet, essayist and lyrical conscience of the magical natural biosphere in which she lives, is among that rarity, one of the few who think and then act upon their conviction that justice requires them to act. Blockade, a chronicle of more than thirty years of fighting the good fight to save the ancient and endangered rainforest and its inhabitants from the chainsaw, the developer and the distant investor is a testament to love—and a fierce and brave love it is. From the Clayoquot Sound protest that resulted in the largest mass trials for civil disobedience in Canadian history to the present actions at Fairy Creek, her story is the story of an awakening and a challenge to the next generation—does it want to preserve towering cathedrals of cedar and fir, or does it want them turned into two-by-fours and toilet paper?”

—Stephen Hume, journalist and author

“Christine Lowther’s recounting of experiences during the iconic logging blockades holds wisdom for us all, especially in an era where the social-ecological-climatic crisis is signalling us to radicalize ourselves. Blockade instills a reverence for the ecosystems and inhabitants of the temperate rainforest and sparks our embers of courage to act.”

—Lilly Woodbury, Surfrider Foundation Canada

“True grit, passion, and a high tolerance for personal discomfort—those are just some of the qualities of forest defenders who literally put their bodies on the line to save our ancient forests. Christine Lowther’s intimate, unflinching account of her time on the frontlines of the War in the Woods reminds us, per Gorky, that the ‘madness of the brave is the wisdom of life.’ And that when it comes to saving what we love, ‘Direct action gets the goods.’”

—Ian Gill, author, bookseller and conservationist

“The descriptions are so personal and riveting I felt like I was there. A beautiful inspiring book, describing the brave daily struggles of people desperately trying to defend the forest and her creatures. It will make you want to quit your job and join the nearest blockade.”

—Dana Lyons, Cows-with-Guns activist-comedian singer-songwriter

“ ‘I am a protector, not a criminal,’ declared Chris Lowther, speaking to the judge following her arrest for taking part in the 1992 blockades against clearcut logging in Clayoquot Sound.

Indeed she is. Protector, protester, poet – and fully prepared, if necessary, to be a pain in the ass to police and logging companies, Chris has “been writing to politicians since early high school.” Her writing burns with anger and grief and despair at all she has witnessed and lived near, as the moonscapes caused by clearcutting spread through the great forests of BC.

Based on her journals written in mosquito-infested tents next to active logging sites, in protest camps fuelled by stress and intensity, and in her isolated cabin in Clayoquot Sound, this book chronicles one woman’s experiences in what are remembered as extraordinary, internationally famous actions against clearcutting. More importantly, though, Blockade as a reminder that the struggle is not over; ancient forests and watersheds remain endangered, the annihilation continues, and the voices raised in their defense in the 1990s are still sounding, and must continue to sound, loud and clear.

Chris describes the energy burnout, the mistakes, the exhaustion, the frictions, the passionate chaos of her many years of dissent, as well as the enormous achievements, and the personal costs, both to herself and others. In her lyrical and keening prose, she both laments and celebrates the immense forests, the landscape, the seascape she loves – she takes us there, to share with her the birds, the animals, the giant trees hailed as ‘hanging gardens’ in the rainforest.

We are left in no doubt of their beauty and their vulnerability: we are reminded, once again, of our responsibilities toward them.

—Margaret Horsfield, co-author of Tofino and Clayoquot Sound: A History